Alternate Ending for Where the Red Fern Grows
by Pie Is Charming
Summary: What would happen if Billy's house burnt down before the dogs died and they moved to the city. This was once again another school assignment and I think it turned out pretty well. Rated T for saftey and sadness.


**Authors Note- I worte this with two of my friends for a Language Arts asssignment. I put a lot of effort into it. Please be respectful with your reviews. Thanks.**

**Alternate Ending**

**Authors Note- This happens right after the hunting competition**

Straight after the competition, we headed home without Grandpa. My dogs whined and cried. When we finally arrived after the long trip, my youngest sister, Tiffany greeted me.

"Mama, Billy's home!" She yelled.

"BILLY!" My other sisters, Jessica and Alice yelled. Mama came out a few minutes later very tired and stressed.

"Billy, your home." She said as she gave Papa a welcome home kiss. Then I noticed smoke coming from the house.

"Mama? Did you start a fire?" I asked, looking at the chimney.

"No. Why?" She asked.

My sisters answered her question a few seconds later. "FIRE!" Everyone started to panic, except Papa. He ran in with buckets of water. Then we noticed the roof starting to crash and fall. We saw Papa by the bay window, and then saw the crash.

"PAPA!" We all screamed as I ran into the great flames and pulled him out. He was just barely alive. The smoke was intoxicating and the burn marks were even worse. The dogs tried to help, but they were just getting in the way. We realized his burns were too severe for us to help.

"Papa?" Tiffany asked crying a bit, actually crying a ton. It was like she was trying to fill the ocean.

"Billy please take your sisters away. _Now!_" Mama said through tears. I took my sisters to Grandpa's store and left Mama there. I regretted this later. We walked down to the store and I tried to hide my tears. I had to be mature about this, I _couldn't _cry in front of my sisters.

"What's going to happen to Papa?" Alice asked.

"I don't know. Let's stay positive." I replied. I realized Jessica wasn't speaking; she knew Papa the best and was feeling the worst about it. She was crying a pond of water. Things were turning for the worst; they couldn't possibly get any worse. I was wrong for the first time today; a scream broke through our silence.

"Momma?" Tiffany asked. I started running toward our dilapidated house, and found Momma crying over Papa dead body.

"Momma? What happened?" I asked her.

"'Good Luck,'his last words, 'Good Luck'" She said while continually crying, it was awful to watch. Momma was just crying there, I hated watching my mother like that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jessica asked breaking our silence. "It doesn't make any sense."

"We should go," I suggested.

"Maybe that's a good idea, Billy." Mama said and we started to walk away into the distance. I got the buggy from the back and we headed for the city, without Papa to aid us in our journey. I've never driven the buggy before, so this was a new experience. Papa was supposed to teach me, but seeing the circumstances this wasn't a good idea at this time.

After the long and rigorous journey, we finally arrived in the city. I immediately went to go find a job, while the rest of my family went to find a house. I saw a _Help Wanted _sign in front of a small café and I went inside. I wasn't sure what job opportunities were available, but I asked the manager.

"Hello. My name is Billy and I saw your _Help Wanted _sign and I need a job. What do you have available?" I asked the young male.

"How's your singing? We need someone to sing to our customers." He said.

"I don't know, but I'll try." I decided to sing some songs by Harry James, a famous singer.

"OH MY GOSH! YOU ARE AMAZING!" He said the amazing with an emphasis on the zing part. "You got the job. Anyway my name is Charles, Charles Wilkinson and I'll be your boss."

"Thank you. When should I start?"

"Now." He said.

"But, I'm not prepared."

"Billy, this café needs you to sing. Just sing Billy, just sing." So I started to sing and a HUGE crowd arrived. Then I saw HER, she was the most beautiful girl ever. She had golden blonde hair and brown eyes with a tint of gold to match. She couldn't have been older than I was, but I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It was love at first sight and then I went up to talk to her.

"Hello." I said trying to be groovy.

"Hi." She said in an awkward and freakishly weird way.

"My name's…umm…umm…Roberto, yeah, Roberto." I said forgetting my name was Billy.

"I'm Michelle." She said with her beautiful tone of voice.

"BILLY GET BACK TO WORK. I'M NOT PAYING YOU TO TALK TO PRETTY GIRLS!" Charles said yelling at me.

"Your name is Billy?" Michelle asked.

"Umm… Roberto is my middle name. I like that name better." I said trying to cover up my awful lie.

"Ok?" She said.

"I think I'm going to go back to singing now." I said and I continued my song. Once I was finished, Michelle was staring at me speechless.

"YOU'RE AMAZING" She said with an emphasis on the zing part. Does everyone do that? First Charles, now Michelle, what is next my grandmother? (I don't think so)

"Thank you." I said.

"You're welcome." She said. "Do you want get some tea?"

"I would love to, after work that is."

"Can't you skip out early?"

"I don't know, can I Charles?"

"GO ahead, you guys are adorable." He said crying a little. It was a little awkward, but Michelle and I had a lovely time. I'd say dumb jokes and she would pretend to laugh, then she told jokes that were actually funny and I would laugh. It was the best of times.

A few years past and time sped by, before we knew it we walking down the aisle. We said our "I do's" vowing to stay with each other. Within 3 years we were expecting our second child or children. We had two sets of twins, Abigail and Anthony, who are 2 years old, and Adam and Amelia who are 8 months old. The dogs are surprisingly still alive. They are 13 years old and are still healthy. We also have 6 new dogs, 5 pups and Little Ann's mate. The pups are named Sparkles, Star, Spot, Frappuccino, and Roger and their father Omelet.

Things are turning for the worst though, Michelle is very ill. We think she has pneumonia, but we aren't sure exactly. I realized what my dad meant by "Good Luck," he wanted us to know he was watching and was going to stay with us through rough times. He wanted us to know he would always be there. I turned to Michelle tears rolling down my eyes as I told the children not to cry. Somehow I thought things would work out, but I was wrong. We told her we loved her, as I knew the end was coming. We said our good byes and she drifted off, to the other side. She was gone. The children started to cry and we walked out of the room, we walked to the café. The café was quite sacred, the place where Michelle and I met. It will always be a part of my life and I will make sure it is part of the children's as well.

Years from now, I will tell the children about their mother. She was a great woman who will always have her special place in our hearts. I'll tell my kids why a red fern grew near their mother's grave. That's when I decided to tell my kids a story, a story of a boy, a dream, and two dogs. This is the story you just read called _Where the Red Fern Grows._


End file.
